Latest revision as of 18:17, 21 April 2015

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The Steinbach Mennonite Church in Steinbach, Manitoba, began services on 17 July 1938, and formally organized in 1939. The first building was occupied in 1941, with subsequent building programs in 1951, 1974, and 1989. Isaac Warkentin is considered the founding leader of the group. Mennonite immigrants from Russia had settled in the Steinbach area in the 1920s. They worshiped in the existing congregations there until the 1930s. In 1936 a group was formed as part of the Schönwieser Gemeinde. In 1942 they became an independent congregation.

Initially the church was served by the Schoenwiese Mennonite church group but a split developed between members who wished affiliation with the Schoenwiese and those who wished to be autonomous. The church's application for membership in the Conference of Mennonites in Canada in 1942 was initially rejected because of opposition from the Schoenwiese, but after some deliberation the application was accepted. Shortly after, members who had wanted to remain with the Schoenwiese locked the doors to the new church because they had helped financially towards its construction. Schoenwiese members continued to attend but did not transfer membership from the mother church. Because of its previous association with the Schoenwiese, the name Steinbach Mennonite was not used until 1942. The transition from German occurred in the 1960s.